T-Mobile will give small amounts of free 4G LTE data for tablets, including the iPad Air and iPad mini

The Apple iPad Air and iPad Mini announced yesterday will arrive at all of the major carriers in the U.S. beginning next week. T-Mobile today announced something unique about its iOS tablets: customers can acquire them at no initial cost and get limited amounts of data for free.

As part of its "UnCarrier" plans, T-Mobile will sell the iPad Air and iPad Mini with retina display at no cost beginning November 1. Customers will be able to purchase the tablets by dividing the costs over the period of 24 monthly payments of $26.25 or $22.08 respectively. The price breakdown is typical of T-Mobile's mobile offering for smartphones. What's unique is that customers will not have to pay for the data they use unless they reach a certain threshold.

T-Mobile customers will be able to receive the first 200MB of 4G LTE data for free. Anyone who has used a Google Chromebook, which has a similar offer, can tell you that running through that amount of data is fairly easy. However, there may still be a benefit for people who are frequently near Wi-Fi hotspots and need to access cellular coverage only on rare occasions. This deal will eliminate the need for such customers to sign-up for a tablet plan.

Anyone needing more than 200 MB of data can sign-up for a monthly plan starting at $10 for unlimited data (only 500MB on 4G LTE) and then add 2GB of data for every additional $10. In other words, someone seeking 4GB of 4G LTE data would pay $30 per month.

T-Mobile will extend the free data offer beyond just the new iPads. Existing tablets, including the Google Nexus 7 and older model iPads, will also be supported. T-Mobile says it will begin offering this plan beginning November 1.